NaNoWriMo 2015

November means NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. A time for aspiring authors around the world to gather and support each other in their attempts to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days.

Now, if you're not familiar with NaNoWriMo, it may seem like it opens the door to a bunch of hacks, giving hope to people that can't actually write, and the opening of the floodgates to a tidal wave of badly written, self-published junk.

On the contrary. Some New York Times Bestsellers have been born of NaNoWriMo.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

Wool by Hugh Howey

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Hough.

There's likely hundreds of other novels out there that have seen some level of success that all started as NaNoWriMo projects. They may not necessarily have finished in a month. (The Night Circus was written over two separate NaNoWriMo challenges.), but they were all started during the challenge, and for many writers, both established and aspiring, getting started on a piece can be the hardest part.

Of course, there's more options than simply writing a novel. Writing comes in many forms, but they all start the same. Words to paper (or to screen as the case may be) on a daily basis. As I've said before, writers need to write.

The challenge for NaNoWriMo is 50,000 words in 30 days. That boils down to just under 1,700 words per day. Now, even that can feel pretty daunting, but once you get started, it's an easy mark to reach if your idea stretches that far. (As of the end of this sentence, this blog post is currently at 284 words for example.)

So, depending on your preferred style, you could accept a variation of the challenge. A poem a day. A novella a week. A short story every 3 days. It really is up to you.

I'm not officially taking part this year. (Officially is signing up on NaNoWriMo.com and keeping track of your progress there.) I am taking advantage of the opportunity to get my ass in gear and get started on a few different ideas I've been batting around for a while. I don't really know how long any of them are going to be, which is one reason I'm not keeping an official NaNoWriMo tally. It's also easier on me to have a few stories I can bounce back and forth between, as opposed to slogging through a single long piece. Considering the difficulties I've had getting anything written for the past several months, any start is a good day.

So if you're taking part, congratulations and good luck. Feel free to refer to my post about Writer's Resources. Don't get discouraged if you don't make the word count every day, and don't even get discouraged if you don't finish in a month's time. The hardest part is getting started.

This blog post has a count of 500 words. Doesn't really seem like much, huh?

~ Shaun

Walkabout: Part 4

Walkabout: Part 1

Walkabout: Part 2

Walkabout: Part 3

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The pain was excruciating. As Carol regained consciousness, she had to fight against passing out again. Tears squeezed out of her shut eyes. She couldn't feel her left leg at all. The one the reptile had bitten. Her nose was filled with the scent of blood and she raised her hands to cover her face in a useless attempt to block it out as she started to sob.

"Easy, now. Easy."

The voice was James, bringing a small sense of clarity to her distraught mind. She finally realized she wasn't in the tree where she had passed out. Carol dared to open her eyes.

James was kneeling over her, the sky a reddish haze behind him. She was on the ground, which felt strangely warm compared to the chill which ran through her body.

"Okay, Carol? Carol. It's alright. You're safe for the moment. I put a tourniquet on your left leg, it's slowed the bleeding a lot, but I can't get it to stop."

"Oh God. Oh God. Idon'twanttodieouthere. Godpleasedon'tletmedieouthere."

"Carol. Carol! Listen to me! You need to calm down. You're in shock. There's an airlift on the way, but it'll take them a little time to get here. You need to hold on until then. Can you hear me?" James had his hands on her shoulders, jostling her, but she barely registered it.

"Carol." Daryl's voice cut through the fog, pausing her mind enough for her to turn her head and look. Her husband was laying there next to her, his one leg badly mangled through the rudimentary bandages James had made out of his shirt. It still continued to bleed through the fabric, pooling underneath his leg until it spread enough to roll down the rock their guide had pulled them both up onto. The sun was setting on the horizon, making the sky match the blood-stained sandstone underneath them.

"Is it...is that animal gone?"

"I haven't seen it for a while, it wandered off into the brush after the attack. Considering that I can't stop either of you from bleeding, I have to guess it was venomous and now it's waiting for you two to die." He leaned in to Carol again. "But I'm not going to let that happen. I've got my mobile and I called in a medical emergency, they have an airlift on the way."

She nodded slowly in understanding, the pain still throbbing through her body. She still wanted to close her eyes, just sleep for a while. Carol knew that was just the shock. To fall asleep now was risking never waking up.

"Daryl?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"Are you happy now?"

She smiled as she heard a week, wheezing laugh at her question. She busted his ass on these trips a lot, but they made him happy, and that was usually enough for her.

"Okay smart guy. What was that?"

"...Lania...Megalania...I would have to guess. I just saw a little bit on a program about Australia's extinct animals."

"Yeah, extinct. There haven't been any Megalania in Australia for ten thousand years." James almost spat at the suggestion.

"Well, I think we found one." Daryl said, wincing at the pain of his broken leg and the multiple puncture wounds from the animal's teeth. James didn't have another response, he just looked out into the wilderness around them. Whatever it was, it was close by still. Waiting for its prey to die. He estimated the airlift was still between ten to fifteen minutes out.

Off to his right, about thirty yards out, he saw the bushes shaking. The animal's head stuck out from between the leaves. He still wouldn't have seen it if it hadn't stuck out its tongue to smell the air. Just like a goanna. It made no sign of coming for them though.

There was usually some kook or other claiming to have seen one every few years, most were just ignored or blown up into a joke. Most sightings were also usually down south, and out in the bush. but James couldn't doubt his own eyes. This was a lizard, bigger than any croc he had ever seen. Whether it really was or not, he had no idea, but the name stuck to it in his head. Megalania.

Daryl had closed his eyes and passed out again, and Carol's eyelids were fluttering as she struggled to stay conscious. James was used to stupid tourists getting themselves in trouble. Getting bitten by a funnel web, or stung by a bullet ant or jellyfish was more common than anyone wanted to admit, so he was used to seeing people going into shock. This felt different though. Between how rapidly and strongly this couple went into shock and how he couldn't stop the bleeding, he was sure the lizard was poisonous somehow.

He remembered back to the attack, watching from the tree he had escaped into, watching the reptile gnaw on Daryl's leg rather than just try to rip it off. Most poisonous lizards didn't inject their venom like snakes did, they had to work it in. He reckoned that was exactly what he had been watching.

Now how long would it wait?

Almost on queue it stepped out of the bushes, it's long, forked tongue flicking in and out. Its body waved from side to side, and James could hear every step as the massive body slowly started heading towards them. Megalania. The Giant Ripper Lizard.

Somehow the slow advance was more terrifying than the initial charge had been. It was deliberate, like it knew there was no escape. This massive lizard, easily a thousand kilograms, held up its head as the tongue tasted the air.

James hoped the height of the rock outcropping would offer some protection, if just for a few minutes, long enough for the chopper to show up and scare it away with its noise, but he couldn't believe that as liesurely as the animal looked while it approached. The fear in his chest was palpable, something he'd never felt before, not even facing down the salties. He was staring into the face of something that looked back at him and saw nothing but prey. Food. James would've given anything to have his rifle with him, but he had assumed this would just be a quick trip up the trail and back. It should've been as safe as any trip he had made into the park.

The couple laying on the rock behind him were both unconscious now as he risked a glance over to them. He couldn't be sure Carol was still breathing. He only knew Daryl wasn't dead because his body was trembling as he lay there.

How much longer before the airlift? Five minutes? Seven? He couldn't fight it off, and he couldn't escape with the older couple. If they moved now, there was also the chance the airlift wouldn't be able to find them.

It was now at the base of the rock, looking up at him. That tongue flicking in and out.

He ran for it. Leaving the old couple to their fate as he jumped down from the opposite side and took off through the grass. James cursed himself as he ran, feeling the weight of the couple's deaths dragging on him, threatening to slow him down.

Then he cursed himself more for not being smarter.

He heard the sounds of it crashing through the brush as it chased after him. Running had made him the target, and this was a patient predator. It knew the bodies of the others would still be there after it chased this prey down.

He could hear it behind him, clawed feet pounding the ground as it charged. It's open mouth hissing, ready to grab onto any limb that fell within reach. Then he felt its sheer power as it plowed into him from behind, sending him through the air and sprawling into the dirt. Its weight was on top of him, crushing one leg as he felt it sink its long, thin teeth into his side, gnawing into him. Working the venom into his flesh. James screamed at the pain, lashing out with one arm, pounding against the side of the beast's head. It completely ignored him as the dirt sucked up his blood as it poured out of the wounds.

Then the weight was gone, and he was laying there bleeding out in the grass. His breath came in short, quick gasps as he slowly turned his head and found himself staring into the reptile's face.

It regarded him silently, it's long tongue slipping out, flicking in his face. The breath was foul, reeking of the blood which covered its mouth and dripped down to the ground mixed with thick strands of venom-laced saliva.

Then there was finally a sound to pierce the otherwise silent bush. The familiar whop-whop-whop of a helicopter as it approached. James felt his eyelids getting heavy, even against the pain of the gaping wounds in his side. He bit his tongue against a fresh wave as the animal, having also heard the sound, grabbed onto his arm and started dragging him off into the brush. In his last thought before he lost consciousness, he hoped the old couple would be found in time.

Walkabout: Part 3

Walkabout: Part 1
Walkabout: Part 2

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When Carol caught up, she turned and looked down the hill to the riverbank. They could just see underneath the overhanging branches where the croc had crawled out. Indeed, there were obvious footprints and drag marks in the mud where it had come up onto land, but it must not have stopped just out of the water like they had been expecting. It must have crawled up further among the trees and the bushes.

That meant it was now somewhere back along the trail they had just run down.

"Hold on now. Something ain't right here..."

James waved for the couple to stay put as he walked back along the trail, crouched down, scanning down the hill and into the trees and bushes that obscured the view from the trail to the riverbank.

"James? That looked like an awfully big croc. Maybe we should just continue down the trail a bit, wait and see if it crosses behind us or heads back into the water?" Daryl's excitement was suddenly gone. The only sound was the guide's shoes on the dirt as he picked his way slowly back along the trail.

Animals dealt with predators on a regular basis. On a trip to Africa several years ago, Daryl and Carol had witnessed a small pride of lions share a watering hole with gazelle, hyenas, and even a giraffe with no problems. The prey could sense when a predator was on the hunt and dangerous, as well as when it wasn't. The silence of the park around them, combined with the knowledge that there was indeed a large predator nearby, wrapped them in a thin veil of fear, which threatened to thicken and smother them at any moment.

Carol slipped behind her husband as she watched the guide quietly search for the animal.

"I'm honestly not sure that was a saltie, mate. No ridges on its back. Looked more like a large monitor lizard."

"Monitor lizard? They don't get that big, do they? I mean, that thing was huge!" Daryl's voice wavered.

"Dunno, to be perfectly honest with you. I just know that wasn't like the salties I'm used to out here. Ah, there it is. Okay, you two, stay here. I'm going to see if I can get a better look at it."

"Are you crazy? Can't we just wait until it goes away?" Carol continued trying to squeeze herself behind her husband. Her sense of fear only increasing.

James worked his way carefully around the edge of the trail, keeping his eyes trained on the animal in the brush as he stepped down. "Just, stay there!"

James made his way down the hill, keeping his eyes on the shape which remained motionless in the bushes. He knew it was watching him as much as he was watching it. This was a massive animal, and an extremely dangerous predator if it was the reason all the other animals cleared out.

The coloring wasn't too far off from a saltwater croc. A mix of dark browns and greens, making it near invisible in the brackish water or the low brush. Even in the tall grass it would be hard to spot. It stood taller than a crocodile though, its head lifted high, with a much shorter snout. The scales were smooth as well, not the rough armour that the salties had.

James nodded to himself. It looked more like the biggest goanna he'd ever seen. If he had to guess, it was easily six meters long. He picked up a small rock and tossed it over into the bushes. The animal didn't move. He backed up slowly, his feet finding the way back up to the trail, eyes locked on the animal almost entirely hidden in front of him. Looking right at it, watching, it still seemed to vanish with the distance as he stepped back.

He didn't turn his back until he reached the trail again, then he hurried back to the couple.

"Yeah, that ain't a saltie. Looks like the biggest damn goanna in the world though."

"Goanna?" Carol asked, peeking over her husband's shoulder.

"Lizard. A really, REALLY, big lizard."

"Is it dangerous?" Daryl continued the line of questioning.

"Well, yeah. I imagine it is. Something that big could take down damn near anything it wants."

"You don't know what it is though?"

"Nope, never seen anything like it before."

"Can we sneak past it? Get back?" Carol's voice trembled.

As if to answer her question, the bushes shook, and then the beast charged up the hill and at them, the ground shuddering under their feet. It was absolutely a massive lizard, and not a crocodile. Its open mouth hissed at them, baring sparse, pointed teeth.

The couple turned and ran down the trail. James followed a ways then darted off into the bushes. The reptile chased after the older pair, its tail waving side to side.

Daryl stumbled.

Before she could do anything, the beast had clamped down on his leg several times, almost gnawing on it, shaking its head, the old man flung around like a dog's toy. There was a distinct snapping sound as Daryl's leg gave to the motion, breaking, and the air filled with the smell of blood and the old man's screams of pain.

Then he was laying on the dirt, blood pooling around his leg from several deep puncture wounds. The animal left him there and continued on, chasing after Carol now.

"The tree! Get up in the tree!" James screamed at her from his own perch, some twenty feet up off the ground. Somehow she heard the command over the sounds of her own screams and its mass pounding the ground as it pursued her.

She made it off the trail to a tree, scrambling up, but not making it high enough in time. She gripped the branches as sharp teeth dug into her ankle. The pain was excrutiating as she screamed at the top of her lungs. The reptile didn't bite down and hold on. It almost seemed to try to chew while attempting to pull her down from the tree.

The flesh of her foot gave before her grip did. The teeth dragging down through her foot and ankle, the lizard tearing huge gashes and ripping off half her foot before it slid back to the earth, swallowing the small chunk as it looked up at her. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to force herself to climb higher. The beast just looked up at her, a long, forked tongue flicking out between its closed lips. It somehow looked satisfied.

She managed to work herself up into a fork in the tree and hung there, blood streaming out of the mangled strips of flesh that used to be her foot. She watched the huge lizard circle the tree she was in before turning back down the trail. Daryl was gone though, the blood marking where he had fallen stretched into a trail off into the bushes and grass.

Her eyes grew heavy and her breath came in quick, short gasps. Carol had spent fifteen years as a nurse. She knew she was going into shock. The wound on her foot was bad enough that if nothing was done she would bleed out in short order anyway, and there was no real way to get proper help in time. She let her eyes close, hoping it would just be quiet and peaceful.

Walkabout: Part 4

Walkabout: Part 2

Part 1. (For those of you who haven't read it yet.)

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Half an hour, they trudged through the trees before the trail finally wound back around to a hill overlooking the river again. The two men had continued discussing the merits of random tourists seeking out deadly animals while Carol dragged her feet behind them, trying to think of ways he was going to pay her back for dragging her all the way out here and wasting a full day of their vacation.

"Huh, well, that's odd." James had his hands on his hips as he turned first one way, then the other, scanning the river as far as he could see in both directions.

"What's odd?"

James didn't answer right away. He continued scanning the river, then turned and looked off further down the trail. The trees thinned quickly at this point, opening into a grassland with scattered trees and red stone hills and outcrops.

"Still don't see any crocs in the river. Don't see any roos or anything out in the grass either. It's weird. We should be able to find something."

The three of them scanned the area. The riverbank still had tracks and drag marks in it. There were signs of life, just nothing moving.

James held up his hand.

"Listen. You can't hear anything. It's like everything's cleared off."

"So all the animals are gone?"

"Well, I dunno that all of them are gone. But you can't even hear any birds."

Daryl didn't know what to say to that. Carol only knew it meant they had trudged all the way out into the bush and wasted a day of their trip for nothing.

"Daryl. You owe me a night at the bar when we get back if you dragged me all the way out here for nothing but the heat."

"James? What does this all mean?" Daryl did his best to ignore Carol's aggravated tongue, though he knew he would pay for it more later.

"Well, could be just about anything. Could be a bad storm moving in tonight. I'd 've heard about it though so I don't think that's it. Could be a particularly nasty saltie has chased everything away." He smirked and glanced over at Carol. "Or, could be someone was noisy and sent everything scurrying."

Carol crossed her arms over her chest, and huffed. She could hardly argue that though, as much as she avoided brushing any of the plants, she hadn't exactly tried to keep her voice down.

"Yeah, that's it, blame me because you can't find your stupid crocs."

"Look, we'll head a bit further down the trail, keep our voices low, and maybe something might come out, okay? Easy peasy."

Carol huffed again, and Daryl's shoulders slumped. He was disappointed and would be ready to head back if something didn't show itself soon. Then it would be down to the bar for likely the rest of the night.

Carol wasn't really a drinker, or a dancer. She liked to swirl a drink around with a straw and take her time with it. The punishment was that Daryl had to stay with her the whole night while they watched the younger crowd get blitzed and dance until the bar closed. On nights where he 'owed' her a night at the bar, she made sure they were the last to leave, with only the employees getting home after they did. Then she would wake him up bright and early. She really was a stickler about her time being wasted.

Which was exactly how this whole trip was turning out.

"There! Look down there!" James pointed excitedly down at the river as he started to run down the trail. There was something there, mostly hidden under the brackish water. The undulating 'S' shape was indicative of a large reptile swimming across to their side. As they ran to catch up with James, it disappeared into the undergrowth along the side of the river.

"Alright, alright, keep your distance now. It must just be like I told you, just a big saltie scaring everything else away. Keep your eyes open now, the trail comes around a little bend and he should be just up on the bank under the bushes where we should be able to get a good look at him."

Daryl's enthusiasm quickly returned as he raced to catch up with James. Carol hurried along at her own pace, falling behind the two men by several steps. Not that they got too much further before stopping at the bend the guide had mentioned.

"Well, shit. Where did he scurry off to?" James stamped his foot.

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Walkabout: Part 3

Walkabout: Part 1

Carol fanned herself with the wide brim of her hat. How she had let Daryl con her into a vacation in Australia of all places in the world, in the middle of summer, she couldn't recall.

"Daryl! Have you seen any crocs yet?" She yelled from the sweltering shade of the trees she had taken cover under.

"No. Dear."

He had been adamant about seeing all the dangerous animals the smallest continent had to offer. Saltwater crocodiles were at the top of his list. He was a camera hunter, although he was slow on the draw and missed twice more shots than he caught. He said it was enough for him just to see the animals with his own eyes, though. Memories to carry the rest of his life. Nevermind that his memory had been fading fairly significantly the past several years.

"Oy! You can wander up the trail over here!"

Daryl had hired a guide to take them into Rinyirru National Park for the day in order to check off his list of critters. Carol, in the meantime, was simply along for the ride, trying to mete out whatever enjoyment she could out of the trip. She enjoyed a good sunny spot as much as the next lady, but over a hundred degrees was too much of a good thing.

"Carol, come on, we're heading up the river a bit further."

She groaned, standing up and looking around. She wished she'd stayed at the hotel. Her hat replaced on her head, she headed after them down a small trail.

The park was an interesting mix of mangroves, swamps, and rainforest, quickly transitioning to grasslands and hills as you went south. Carol had initially been surprised at the variety, but in the heat of the day even that little interest had evaporated.

Now she didn't bother trying to hide her irritation as she followed them down the trail which meandered alongside the river, just far enough up the bank that a croc couldn't lunge up and take someone without warning. Carol watched her steps, being careful not to brush against any of the grass which hung over the edge of the trail. Daryl had made her watch enough nature shows on Australia before announcing the trip for her to be wary of the smallest bug.

Daryl's list of animals to see included the funnel web spider, and while it didn't make the list of critters to hunt down, the documentary which covered the spider also devoted time to bull ants and other insects. As far as Carol was concerned, everything out here could be hiding some deadly bite or sting.

The idea didn't scare her, so much as it pissed her off that he had insisted on coming out here. Daryl was wearing shorts, daring for some little thing to stab, sting, or bite him.

She caught up with them at the crest of a small hill, overlooking a wide bend in the river.

"Found your croc yet?"

"No. Nothing yet."

Their guide, James, pointed out the mud on the opposite bank before speaking in the thick Australian accent Daryl had insisted their guide have, though Carol thought James was playing it up for him.

"Look there. See the lines in the mud? Those are drag marks from a saltie's tail. They're around here somewhere. Or at least they were not long ago."

"Can we keep going inland? How much farther does this trail go?" Daryl sounded worried, completely oblivious to his wife's quickly fouling mood.

"This trail? It goes on for Kays still. Common for backpackers to head up this way for a weekend camping trip. There's any salties though, they'll be in the next click. I haven't seen them much farther in than that around here."

"Well, what else might we find if we keep going? Anything else on my list, here?"

Daryl dug the piece of paper out of his pocket, handing it over to their guide. Carol shifted her weight onto her left leg, crossing her arms across her chest and letting out an indignant sigh. She had her hat, and a bag with a couple bottles of water, but they hadn't actually planned on being out here all day. James had assured them it wouldn't be hard at all to actually see a croc, or a saltie as he called them. Carol was seriously considering demanding a refund of his fee when they got back to civilization.

James looked over the list and glanced back up at Daryl with a cocked brow.

"Mate, you'll be lucky if you don't see most of these your whole trip. Seriously, you want to find an eastern brown?"

"Well, I don't want to hold it or anything. I just want to get a picture, or see one at the very least."

"Ya know, there's a world-class zoo just up in Beerwah."

"Yeah, I know, I want to see them out in the wild though. Just a quick glance if that's all I get. I don't even need to take a picture."

"Mate, you're a weird one. We can go up a bit farther though, see what we can find. You see something move though, you tell me and I'll let you know what it is. Last thing I need under my belt is a dead tourist."

James sighed, his shoulders slumped as he turned and led the way further up the trail.

Daryl folded his list up and tucked it back into his pocket. His face scrunched up in the way that Carol recognized as his expression of "Nobody understands me." It was true too as he followed up the trail and she brought up the rear. Twenty-three years of marriage and she still couldn't understand his desire to see all these animals.

The trail wound away from the river and inland into the rainforest. The two men continued tromping, while she ducked her head under every branch, and shied away from leaf and blade of grass reaching out from the shade. She expected things to be cooler, even if just a little. It certainly didn't feel like it. Probably due to it being more humid underneath the canopy. She wished she was in Ireland, or Canada, or somewhere not known for its heat. At least where it was cold, you never heard people making excuses about it being dry or wet.

She felt something plop onto the brim of her hat and she quickly pulled it off to look. A leech. Lovely. She flicked it off her hat and back off into the undergrowth before hurrying after James and Daryl.

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Click here for Part 2